Romania's Hidroelectrica continues to sell small hydro power plants with new EUR 10.4 mln bid scheduled for January

Romanian energy producer Hidroelectrica plans to sell 14 micro hydro power plants it owns, at a starting price of EUR 10.4 million. This comes after the company sold other 14 micro hydro power plants during a bid in June 2013. The company cashed in some EUR 10.5 million after the June sale. The next bid will take place on January 23 and 24 of 2014. Hidroelectrica intends to sell a total of 88 micro hydro power plants, which would be less than 1 percent of its installed power. These power plants constantly require higher costs than the revenues they generate, and the company does not have the needed resources to invest in them and receive green certificates, which would turn them profitable, according to Mihai Stanculescu, president of the Hidroelectrica's board. The Romanian state plans to list Hidroelectrica on the local stock exchange in 2014, with a listing deadline set for June 2014. The Romanian state might sell 10 percent or 15 percent of the energy producer. Hidroelectrica was under insolvency for a year, between June 2012 and June 2013. The company recorded a profit of around EUR 109 million (RON 481 million) in the first half of 2013, compared to a loss of RON 202 million reported in the same period in 2012. editor@romania-insider.com